What's A Goochie?

We like to take walks around our neighborhood in the evenings. The older kids ride their bikes and we push E in a stroller. Sometimes Little E runs along beside us, but that stopped after Sugie ran over him with her bike. Yep, that's right. She plowed down my precious baby boy. He's ok. I'm not. That sequence of events will forever be ingrained in my mind. But, he's fine - just had a little road rash and a bump on his head. Anyway, I digress...

Buddy would stop riding his bike every now and then, get off his bike, wiggle around, and then resume riding. After about the third time of this, we had this conversation:

Me: Buddy, what are you doing?
Bud: Nothing, Mom.
Me: Well, let's get going then.
Bud: I can't, Mom.
Me: Buddy, what is the problem?!?
Bud: I have a goochie.
Me: A what?
Bud: A GOOCHIE!!

And, then he proceeded to adjust his undies. Oh.... a wedgie!!

Family Pics

It's time for the annual family pics!! I really procrastinated this year when it came to getting the kid's birthday pics taken. So, I combined all of their birthday pics and family pics for one sitting. It was nice to get them all done at once!!

As usual the kids did great. We have yet to have one of those horrible picture experiences that I hear about so often. (I'm knocking on wood as I write this!)

Buddy - Age 5 (almost!)

Little E - age 2
Sugie - age 8

For the group shots, they usually posed the older kids first. Little E watched everything intently. When they told him to get in the picture, he'd get right beside Buddy and pose just like his big brother everytime. It was so cute!!

My precious trio
Our family

Sugie's First Day of 3rd Grade

How is it possible that I have a third grader?!? Sugie was pretty excited about going back to school. Her teacher is gone for a month on personal leave, so she has a sub to start off the year.
She came home and exclaimed, "Third Grade is great!!" I'm so glad that she likes school and has so many friends. She loves having K in her class again. Those two are like peas in a pod.
Sugie doesn't have a boyfriend yet this year, but did say that Bryson likes her. Oh, boy! Here we go again!

Meet the Teacher Night

The night before school started, we went to Sugie's room to meet her teacher and learn about her upcoming year. Sugie was so excited to find out who was going to be in her class. We were all so excited when we saw her BFF in her room!! As a bonus, Sugie sits next to another really good friend she's had since preschool. It should be a great year!!

( I promise you that Sugie is wearing shorts with her top!! They are teeny tiny "booty shorts", but they are there!) We played beauty shop a few times this summer, so she wanted me to do something fun with her hair. You can't tell from this pic, but it's in a side updo with white flowers. It looked so pretty!! The bus driver who drove us up to the school asked if she was in beauty pageants because she thought she was beautiful!!

Our Big Boy

Guess what happened at our house a few weeks ago?!?
Yep, that's right! Little E used the potty for the first time!! He's been really curious about the potty lately and follows Buddy to the bathroom all of the time. I'm hoping Buddy will somehow inspire E to use the potty on a regular basis. He does mimic his big brother a lot!
Way to go, E!! You're getting to be such a big boy!

Sugie's Summer Camp Talent Show

Sugie returned to summer camp for the last two weeks of her summer break. She loves going this camp! We love it because all 3 kids are at the same school!

Each summer, the kids put on a talent show. This year's theme was "Summer Camp Has Talent" because the camp activities were centered around games shows, like The Amazing Race, Survivor, and America's Got Talent.
Sugie rocked out the stage singing a song from "Lemonade Mouth" with two other girls. Sugie stood in the middle of the group and held the microphone, so all we heard was Sugie! Mimi and I loved it!! She did AWESOME!! That girl loves being on stage!
She also danced backup for a boy singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy." It was a cute show, made even cuter by my Sugar Bear!

Sugie Strikes Again

She did it when Buddy was little and now Little E is starting to fall prey to it..... Sugie dressing up anyone who enters her room! E actually liked his cheerleading outfit!!
He then busted out some rhymes on the karaoke machine in the foyer, otherwise known as "Sugie's Stage". His favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus", and of course, is so cute to hear!

Family Pizza Party

When the gang got back from Chicago, we all met up for a pizza party! I was thrilled to get my Sugie back!

After dinner, we moved the party to Dairy Queen!
We always love our visits with Dad and Mims!

Buddy's Favorite Activity

Buddy's favorite activity is wrestling!! He needs at least one daily dose of some good wrestle mania! Little E loves it, too!

E's Summertime Favorite

Besides playing outdoors, one of E's most favorite summertime things is:

CORN ON THE COB!!

Sugie's Chicago Adventure

After many years of saying "no", I finally said "yes" to the question from Dad and Mims - Can Sugie join us on the annual grandkids trip? It was so hard for me to let her go!! But, this year's trip was within driving distance and just for a few days.

Sugie was sooooo excited to Chicago with her cousins! Mims had a full bag of candy packed for her, new shoes, and three new bathing suits!!

It was so weird not having our little girl around. But, we took advantage of the reduced number of kids by finding a babysitter and going on a date!
Sugie had a great time on her trip. They visited the Science & Technology Museum, took a boat ride through the city, went up in the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, went to Wrigley Field, and did a lot of walking. I hope to get some pics soon!

A Visit from Mims & Grandpa

Right after we returned from our Missouri adventure, Dad and Mims drove in from Arizona to visit everyone!! Buddy was so thrilled they brought one of their dogs, "Rocky".

Dad also came loaded with presents for the kids and ice cream for everyone!!
Little E really liked intereacting with Dad. He wouldn't leave his side. It was pretty cute!

Grant's Farm

Part 2 of our Missouri adventure was a stop in St. Louis. I was excited to take Little E to Grant's Farm because the other kids have always had a good time there. It starts out with a tram ride around the property, looking at the animals and Grant's house.

Then, it's goat feeding time!! We bought the kids bottles of milk to feed the goats. Sugie and Buddy opted to stay outside of their pen to feed them.
I took Little E inside so that he could get an up close view of the goats. The sign, "Goats may be aggessive", is an understatement! They were jumping on us and scratching us. It wasn't fun for either one of us, so we quickly joined the other kids.


Little E LOVED feeding the goats their bottle!! He got upset when it was empty!


Our visit took place during the oppressive heat wave. At 9 am, it was already 91 degrees!! So, the kids soaked themselves in the mist!
The kids aren't sweaty in this pic; just wet from the sprayer!
Camel feeding was interesting. Sugie, who is afraid of her own shadow, dropped the food when the camel tried to eat.
Buddy is usually a good sport when it comes to trying new things. He did an awesome job feeding the camels!
Funny faces! (I really hope the hubby isn't licking the baby!)


After making our way through the farm, we went to see the Clydesdales. There is a horse stable behind our property and Little E LOVES to see the horses each day.

I love this pic of Little E. He really loved those horses!

It was a fun day at the farm, but we ready to get back in some air conditioning!!

The New Keyboard

My grandparents love to give away things when you visit. Buddy received a treasure box and farm animal toys. Grandma tried to give me a ring. Sugie ended up with a pretty cool gift - a new keyboard!!

Within minutes of it being set up, she was in full costume singing and playing her little heart out. She even rigged her microphone on the music stand. She loves the keyboard! At school, she has keyboarding class (not typing, like I initially thought) once a week, so hopefully she'll do a lot of practicing.

Of course, the boys had to get their hands on it. They love the sounds effects, like the helicopter, gunshot, and telephone. Thanks so much, Grandma and Grandpa!!

Visit with the Grandparents

We visited my grandparent's near Springfield, MO. They had never met Little E, so we were excited to show off our precious boy.

They showed us off to all of the neighbors!
The kids were really good during the visit and thankfully didn't destroy anything.
Grandma and my Aunt Judy prepared a huge lunch for us and invited family in from surrounding areas.
I'm so glad we made the trip to visit them.
One regret is that we didn't go to Joplin to see the devastation from the tornado. It would have added two hours on our already 7 hour trip, so I was afraid that was pushing it with the kids.